Ireland - Minimum wage rise uncertain - September 30, 2026

It is uncertain whether the Government will approve the Low Pay Commission's recommendation to raise the national minimum wage by € 0.79 to € 14.94 an hour from 1 January 2027. The increase would affect about 200,000 workers. Senior Government sources said it is "certainly not a definite" that the full increase will be approved, and one cabinet minister privately called the recommendation too high and said the Commission should be restructured. The Commission includes employer and union representatives. No recommendation has ever been rejected since the minimum wage was introduced. At the new rate, a full-time worker on a 39-hour week would earn € 30,298 a year, passing € 30,000 for the first time. Employers argue the rise would harm jobs in labour-intensive sectors such as construction, while SIPTU union had called for an increase of € 1.

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